A Bow at A Venture “And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armour.”—s Kings xxii. 34. The origin of this phrase is in the story of the death of King Ahab. The general interpretation of the phrase is that the man drew his bow without the intention of aiming at anything in particular. In other words, he...

Beat About The Bush He bet about the bush whyles others caught the birds.” –GASCOIGNE: Works (1572) The idiomatic sense of this phrase is to show hesitation in approaching a subject which one intends to discuss. Sportsmen employ many different methods of drawing or approaching a quarry. Some of these methods are clumsy, others are adroit and subtle. Even animals themselves of the predatory sort often display a cleverness not excelled...

Apple-Pie Order “Put the craft a little into apple-pie order.” —MARRYAT: Jacob Faithful (1835). To be “in apple-pie order,” or “as orderly as an apple-pie,” means anything which is arranged precisely and neatly in perfect order, and thus pleasing to the sight ; but why should an apple-pie be more orderly than any other pie ? Languages are often modified, sometimes imperceptibly, by the impingement of foreign words and phrases on...

An Axe To Grind “When I see a merchant over-polite to his customers, think I, that man has an axe to grind.”—CILAS MINER. : Who’ll Turn Grindstones? (1815). This phrase connotes selfish and personally interested motives in ostensibly public service—a suggestion of pulling strings behind the scenes for private ends. “Jobbery” and “log-rolling” are terms which are closely associated with political axe-grinding. Our phrase is founded on a story told by...

Lick Into Shape “Arts and sciences are not cast in a mould, but are formed and perfected by degrees, by often handling and polishing, as bears leisurely lick their cubs into form.”—MONTAIGNE. Words are frequently met in all languages the meanings of which have been totally changed in the course of time. The original and usual meaning of “lick” is to pass over with the tongue. as many animals caress their...